costs collapse and outputs exploid. it's something no one of us will solve, but all of us can easily do once we understand the scale of the problem. thank you for spending time with us. "hardball" is up right now. it's in the trees. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews down in washington. leading off tonight, tree hugger. nothing mitt romney has e said during the campaign has generated more ridicule than the comment that the trees in michigan are the right height. what did mitt do today in detroit? he said it again. then to show he was a regular guy, he added he owns a mustang, a chevy pickup, and here it comes, his wife drives a couple cadillacs. a couple of cadillacs.

that will endure him to blue-collar voters. the new nbc map suggests they may be right. mitt was in detroit today to push his new economic plan, but the optics didn't help. 1,200 people there at ford people where the lions play football. who is the guy's advanced man on this one? it doesn't help had opposed the bailout and that's wildly popular in michigan. plus culture wars. the ultrasound bill in virginia and the recently-dropped bill there threatens to reaffirm for millions of women that the gop has lurgeed too far to the right on issues important to them. and the oscars are sunday night. this year it looks like liberal hollywood plans to stick it to the right wing by celebrating a french movie. and a third one spotlighting white southern racism in the 9

1960s. finally a tribute to a great comedian who was the first to mimic the silent movie era. we begin with mitt romney's connection problem. chuck todd is nbc's political krerkt and chief white house correspondent and holds a numerable amount of other titles. you poor man. you have a couple of titles. what's this? i just got to start on the idiom. mitt romney has had a problem delivering a large message to what he'll do for the next four years. but he also seems to have a problem of the simplest thing of talking to people. he talked about the trees being the right height. everybody thought he was chauncey gardener for being there. he did it again today. his big economic speech in detroit. mitt romney spoke to an audience. well -- 1, 200 people in a football stadium that holds 65,000 people. not the ideal message of a thunderous crowd you'd want to

see heading into a critical primary. he brought up the michigan trees again and his family's multiple cars. let's watch. >> this feels good being back in michigan. you know, the trees are the right height. the streets are just right. i like the fact that most of the cars i see are automobiles. ann drives a couple cadillacs actually. >> a couple of cadillacs actually. the poor, the conservative. >> it's funny. this is an issue. he has this awkwardness about him. >> what's a couple of cadillacs mean to a guy who has no cars? >> of all things to pick, he could have been a couple of gm cars or other american cars and it wouldn't have felt so odd. but, you know, we do this too much. i'm not crazy about putting

them. but i get the sense that romney has been uncomfortable with the message he's had to sell for the last year and a half. he's running -- he's having to run in a way that wouldn't be ideal for him if it were his comfort zone. he's a republican tech na democrat. he's a business -- he can't run that way. i feel all of this has -- and that's what gets these weird languages. >> suppose he was sitting in a board room with a bunch of other people talking about a couple cadillacs. that's fine. that sounds right among that crowd. he's used to talking to people with a lot of money. he comes from a lot of money. now he's out there trying to sell himself as joe bag of donuts. six pack. what do you say? it's not translating. >> there is and has always been for romney a disconnect issue. there's two dynamics in this

process. you had notional voters. they have gone after every front runner. michele bachmann, rick perry. they fall in love and out of love. then you had the rational voters. i'm not saying those who are notional are irrational. the most conservative republican that can get elected. not the most conservative. even with all of romney's otherwise visible rhetorical, whenever he goes off script and tries this organic authenticity it falls flat. >> we have seen this before. >> by the dynamic will play out in michigan and arizona. the notionals will have put santorum close. >> let's watch. >> al gore was uncomfortable. there was something about how he had to run. it was not the way he wanted to run. and he himself later edadmitted

it. you get sense. >> he got tired of trying. >> those of us who analyze constantly badger the candidates about whatever it is that their central defect is. the more they focus on it. the more they focus on it, the bigger problem it becomes. >> is he walking back in saying or are they afraid to talk to him? >> i get the sense that there -- this feels oddly disjointed sometimes. i'm not 100% convinced that says, you messed that one up. >> what does steven say? those guys seem to be vocal people. >> we're not privy to the most important conversations along this line. but what you have seen and what you can note consistently is there's not been a noticeable ability for romney to shift effectively in this realm. >> let's look at this. former governor jeb bush of

florida, who was always guy on the bench now, he told a dallas audience "i used to be a conservative. i'm wondering i don't think i have changed, but it's troubling when people are appealing to fears and emotions rather than look at the horizon for a broader prospective. i think it changes when we get to the general election. i hope." . here he is more concerns about the other candidates. he also told a local reporter he wouldn't jump into the race. one of the candidates apparently currently running would be the nominee. but he stressed the importance. let's watch jeb bush. >> it's important for the candidates to recognize, though, that they have to appeal to primary voters and not turn off independent voters that will be part of a winning coalition. >> now, it seems like he's more talking about the santorum and the stuff you're getting from newt gingrich about the moon.

it's like there's two guys you're talking about. the rational guy, that's certainly mitt romney, and the more notional, the ones that think we'll try this guy. what a strange campaign this is. >> it's been a strange campaign. the most important take away from what jeb bush said is don't get the white horse ready for me because i'm not the knight. don't look to me e to rescue this situation if you think it needs rescuing. point number two, remember. within the bush family and the tea party aspect, there's always been antipathy. they do not consider themselves bush republicans. even under george bush, somewhat in high regard. so jeb bush is not exactly the spokesperson for that wing of the party. when they hear him say that, they don't say there's something wrong with me. they think there's something wrong with jeb. >> jeb was the more trusted conservative than the two. but it is fascinating how all of

the most effective hits on santorum by romney the other night were for things santorum supported that were bush initiatives. as much bashing of the bush administration. >> the santorum record -- >> support no child left behind. >> that was a w. thing. >> we have to get to the map here. this is friday. chuck you have your new map of which way states are leaning now. the magic number to win the presidential election is 270 electoral votes. let's start with the democrats. this shows the 18 states in blue that are solidly likely or leaning democrat. that's electoral votes up to 227. that's for the democratic side as of now. leaning or there. now to the republican side. this is the red map. this map shows the 24 red states that are solid, likely, or leaning republican states. this adds up to 197 votes.

there it is. plus the eight tossup states. currently in the list there. nevada, colorado, florida, north carolina, virginia, ohio, pennsylvania. wow. pennsylvania and new hampshire. what do you know? pennsylvania is a tossup state? >> right now. we'll see. >> it's always been democrat. >> but the shift in our map for us was the industrial midwest. wisconsin and michigan. we had both of those in tossups. both of those shifts. the only thing that shifted to republican is iowa. and part of that, and you talked to some folks in team obama. you had for six months republican messaging and antiof obama messaging sitting there. it's taken a toll. and iowa -- they are okay with

the social conservatism. the blue-collar vote that could be up for grabs. >> let's go really big picture. this election has always struck me as basically about binary. keep it going or change. in the end after all the personalities and the crazies and you have this sort of sound, sort of boring mitt romney and maybe chris christie is his running mate. who knows. you end up having a solid business mechanic as an alternative to this more charismatic, if you will, president we have now of barack obama. isn't it going to turn on a simple gut decision by most middle of the roaders? does he have control of the economy or e don't you? if you don't, you go with romney. is it still that basic situation of yes or no about obama? not about all these interesting characters on the right? >> i think we're shifting to a

choice. part of the shift here is that it is shifting to a choice. voters have done it in '96. a majority was interested in somebody else, but not to fire clinton or bush. they were looking somewhere else. there's still a slice that will be about a choice. >> you don't think it's the p k picture on the house? >> i don't buy it's a full-flej. >> i think the two words are consolidate or eradicate. if obama wins, the health care law, dodd-frank, the architecture of a new relationship between the federal government and american people. if mitt romney is the nominee, they have all pledged to e eradicate the central pillars of what barack obama did. consolida consolidate, you have this to e grow and thrive, or completely wiped away and replaced.

consolidate or eradicate. >> it's essential. how we regulate american business. that's all. that's it. >> i'm sticking to my theory. in that voting booth, yes or no. it's a hard one. yes or no. it's still the issue. we have three different views here. thank you chuck todd. coming up, mitt romney spoke to a crowd of 1,200 in a football stadium that held 65,000 potentially. the bigger challenge for romney might be explaining to voters why he opposed the auto bailout. which by the way explains what you're talking about, chuck, the shift in the states. because of this stuff opposing the car industry. except for the couple of cadillacs. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. ♪ [ male announcer ] for our town. [ dog barks ] for our country. ♪

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comparison of dualing speeches and the crowd's attending. on the left, you see the packed crowd at mile high back in 2008 when barack obama accepted the democratic nomination for president. it was a full house that night in denver. there on the right, that's romney's crowd today at ford field in detroit. all 1,200 of them and a lot of empty seats in that huge stadium. we'll be right back. to think. ♪ ...that right now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be. we know you'd like to see the same information your advisor does so you can get a deeper understanding of what's going on with your portfolio. we know all this because we asked you, and what we heard helped us create pnc wealth insight, a smarter way to work with your pnc advisor, so you can make better decisions and live achievement. achoo! [ male announcer ] but when she used tissues, she went crazy wild. tissue after tissue, she always took a ton.

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back to "hardball." mitt romney has a tough sell to make in michigan. he has to convince voters that he opposed president obama's bailout in detroit while at the same time arguing that the bailout worked. because the president did exactly what romney said he suggested all along. here's romney taking a stab at that argument at wednesday night's debate. >> i put an ad in the paper and said absolutely not. these companies need to go through a managed bankruptcy.

just like airlines have. just like other industries have. go through a managed bankruptcy. go through that managed bankruptcy and shed the access of cost that's been put on them. then if they need help coming out of bankruptcy, the government can get them back on their feet. >> just to prove he had the audience stacked out, they applauded the word bankruptcy. no audience in america applauds the word bankruptcy unless they were cued to do it by whips in the audience. steve rather in was the leaded a virus for president obama and john heilemann is an nbc political analyst. let's look at something you wrote in "the new york times." you wrote that romney's managed bankruptcy plan "sounds like a wonderfully sensible approach except that it's utter fantasy." i have heard you say this before, but what is this plan? and would it have killed the

auto industry? >> he wanted them to go through bankruptcy. then if government needed to help on the way out, they could. the problem with his idea is that if the auto industry had gone into a managed bankruptcy, it would have never come out because in late 2008 when president bush actually first gave the money then in 2009 when president obama did, there wasn't a penny of private capital that had interest in financing the companies. they would have shut doors and laid off workers and put a million people out of work. >> so the reason the government had to cough up the money was because there wasn't anybody out there saying i would love to invest in the auto industry. >> correct. none of us liked the idea of government intervening in these industries. we didn't do it because we wanted to. we had did it because we had to. it was a unique moment in time when there simply wasn't private capital available. our view was that's what government was there to do. step in what markets fail.

>> it seems the success of the auto industry is really -- i have to tell you one of those things you never expected to happen. i'm a civilian in terms of the economy out there, but the fact that it came back so big. we have three auto companies. ford now number one. it's unbelievable. they are taking on the foreign challengers. they are doing so well. this is a victory for obama politically. >> well, yeah. it certainly is. steve makes the correct point that there was the people taking this out of context. there was no private capital at that period given the state of the economy and the financial system after the near collapse. barack obama and his team with steve and others felt like this was the necessary thing to do. it was a huge gamble in some ways. if it hadn't worked out as well as it has, it could have been a huge political albatross, but he has a great club to beat romney

with. barack obama won michigan in 2008 without this kind of success behind him. he won even places like mccomb county, famous home of the reagan democrats. with this as his main calling card x it's going to be hard for a republican to beat him in michigan, i think. >> i think it will help him in ohio and missouri. super pac, this is the ad here hitting romney this week. >> his message was clear. >> let detroit go bankrupt. >> mitt romney, there's no question he made a fortune from businesses he helped destroy. >> bankrupt. >> romney pocketed huge fees shortly before companies collapsed. >> bankrupt. >> even when the businesses failed, romney came out ahead. are those the values we want in an american president? >> bankrupt. >> steve, you have done the country a service. i want to ask you a little

secret. what gave you -- you remember after world war ii how all that you had to do was reopen trading zones in europe. that was what the plan was about. get the countries on both sides trading again. recreate what's already there. the strong financial structure and economic trading structure of europe. get it back on its feet. how did you know there was still fundamentals there that could compete? >> we didn't know for sure, but we did the work we do. we treated this like an exercise that i had done in the private sector. we went in there and tore these companies apart and put them back together. consult consulted a lot of experts. we believed there was nothing wrong with these companies. they were efficient and starting to make better products. they had too much debt and frankly they had some costs including some for labor that were sustainable. it was a restructuring exercise. we felt very confident about general motors. we felt confident about chrysler. but frankly, they have exceeded

our expectations. they have done a fabulous job. >> can we do this across the board? i care about it a lot. this area between pennsylvania and wisconsin, can we rebuild american manufacturing the way we rebuilt the auto industry? is it big enough this idea to go across the board? >> unfortunately, i don't think this model fits completely. this was a unique set of circumstances with companies that were mismanage d for a lon time that built up liabilities for a long time. the fact is that we can do better in manufacturing. we are doing better. but we have to remember we're competing against a lot of countries that are also doing better at lower wages. what we want to do is do the best we can in manufacturing while we build up in areas. >> it seems there's a number -- if you have an advantage, they love the bailout thing. i'm looking at the map with chuck.

you take that in advantage. people like the bailout. then take it to michigan and ohio and missouri. maybe not indiana. but there's a lot of states at stake on this issue. >> there is. chris, you remember in 2010 when republicans swept through those midwest states, and we looked at president obama's approval ratings, it was one of his problems in 2012. now his numbers are looking good in most of those states. it makes the map a lot easier for him. as you pointed out, there are a lot of states, not just michigan, that had suppliers and parts that had industries that benefitted. it's a big part of the reason why president obama looks so much better across the region now is the fact that the auto industry has rebounded the way it has. it's an asset for him going into november. >> thank you, steve ratner and john heilemann. up next, jon stewart takes

issue with the description of cheerful. that's newt gingrich for you. the sideshow is next. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. so uh this is my friend frank and his, uh, retirement plan. one golden crown. come on frank how long have we known each other?

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i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. back to "hardball." now for the sideshow. first up, strategy session that may have sounded like the most straight-forward of questions when the four gop candidates were asked to describe themselves in just one word. still some of us were thrown when newt gingrich went with "cheerful." here's jon stewart weighing in on the debate and newt gingrich's description of himself. let's watch. >> the 20th debate of this campaign season. one more, and the debates will be able to drink legally. mostly to forget about the terrible things they heard in

these debates. newt gingrich, who throughout the night articulated a view that made him sound up like he grew up in a depression. >> anywhere in the world could be in danger at any minute. we're looking at an abyss. we're more at risk today, men and women, boys, and girls, then at any time in the history of this country. >> all right. after all that, i'm almost afraid to hear gingrich's one word for himself. >> cheerful. >> maybe newt gingrich's cheerful because he likes it when things go bad. next up, what a difference four years making. john mccain may be backing mitt romney these days, but that was the farthest from the truth in 2008. there's a new ad giving us a flash back to some of mccain's

favorite descriptions of mitt romney when they were both vying for the presidential nomination. let's watch john. >> one thing i think we should give governor romney for, he e is consistent. he's consistently taken both sides of any major issue. he's consistently flip-flopped on every issue. on cap and trade, he supported it. he supported it. so he's consistent and then he flip-flopped. >> i haven't changed my position on even numbered years or changed because of the different offices may be running for. >> i just want to say to governor romney, we disagree on a lot of issues, but i agree, you are the candidate of change. >> what's with that insane giggle he has there? it doesn't help he keeps giggling every time romney shows

up to be inconsistent. up next, in a year that's supposed to be about jobs, jobs, jobs, why are the republicans talking about birth control, abortion, and gay marriage? they are reminding everyone how far to the right they have gotten. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. [ female announcer ] lactaid milk is easy to digest. it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk.

i'm tyler mathisen with your market wrap. the dow shedding 2. the s&p was up 2. the nasdaq gained 6. report on consumer sentiment shows americans are confident about the economy. the university of michigan's index rose to its highest level in a year. meanwhile, new home sales were off .9s were last -- .9% that .

and oil prices up for a fifth week in a row, ending $110 a barrel on the ongoing worries about iran. that's it from cnbc. now back to "hardball." that captures the scene. welcome back to "hardball." that's the virginia delegate trying to talk, who sponsored a bill being shouted down at the capital. it defines a fertilized human

egg as a person. it was put aside until next year. a big rebutte to virginia republicans. sex and politics are colliding in three states run by thee high-profile governors np in virginia, it's abortion politics overreaching. and a governor having to back pedal. in maryland, it's same sex marriage. opponents say they are going to challenge the law. and in new jersey, republican governor chris christie vetoed a bill saying he wants to put it it on the ballot in november, at a time when people thought the economy would dominate. the economy stooper back in the days. what does this mean for 2012 politics? let's find out. jennifer downy is a contributor

to "the huffington post." and david corn is an msnbc contributor. i want to start with jennifer. it's great to have you on on this friday, jennifer. let's start with this whole thing going on in virginia. virginia state politics there. why is it -- is it the republicans pushing there? the ultrasound -- let's take a look at that. why are they pushing issues like that in 2012? >> i think the party has moved so far to the right in so many states, chris, around the country that you see in virginia, a state that's a must-win for republicans if they are going to win in the general election, going so far right with a bill like this that governor mcdonnell looked at it, at first glance thought it was okay, then remembered he might be a running mate for mitt romney and thought maybe it's not okay and said it's not acceptable. what you're seeing is a real takeover on the right, maybe an

overreach on social issues, where they think maybe we have gotten this far in the primary race. maybe we keep this thing going and go for the gold. >> david, your thoughts as a male. we have to be careful. it's women's concerns. you're talking about birth control and abortion rights. it does seem like the republicans in virginia have felt the press si miss and are pulling back. >> you think back a year ago when they took control of the house from speaker pelosi. some of the first things they did was coming up with abortion bills. after talking about where are the jobs, their natural impulses seems to come out. cut taxes. they are so driven by the social issues that once they get into power, they can't help themselves. >> they run on lowering taxes. once they get in, they do this.

virginia state politics went national when the ultrasound bill was picked up. it secured the state. let's listen. >> the virginia house of representatives passed a bill that required women to have a transvaginal ultrasound before having an abortion. don't get me wrong. i love transvaginal. it's my favorite airline. i have so many miles on transvaginal that i always get upgraded to lady business. >> really? >> they also passed a bill saying life begins at conception. what's next? life begins at last call? >> wow. any way, they are making light of a subject that matters to a lot of people. let's swing up from virginia. they thought they went too close for their own good. let's look at another republican guy. the big guy in new jersey who

clearly wants to get on the ticket too, but he wants to make sure they get the idea he's a northeastern liberal. here's chris christie defending putting gay marriage up for a vote and vetoing it. >> put it on the referendum, and i will rule on what the people want to do. i vetoed the bill. if they passed it again, i would veto it again e. >> do they do that because there's a reasonable chance it would lose? >> i think it's a jump ball in new jersey. as it is in most places. >> basketball terminology, but it's political reality. jennifer, i think what chris christie wants to do is convince the country he would be a great running mate for mitt romney if he runs. this is his issue. he's staked out a very cultural conservative position for an east coast guy for one purpose. well many purposes, but the primary opportunity. it gives him the opportunity to be anti-gay marriage and be put

on the ticket that way. >> i think you're right. he neutralizes some of the criticism that romney has gotten from the right for having supported same sex marriage in massachusetts. that would inoculate himself and romney from that charge. but i think chris christie is making a longer term play. he thinks the party is going to stay to the right for that long. i think it tells you about a key political mind thinks the party may be going in four years. >> there's a danger here for the republicans. >> there's a danger for him getting reelected in new jersey too. >> what is he talking about? he's talking about sex. gay civil rights or not civil rights. rather than talking about the economy. why did they elect him in new jersey? it wasn't because of social conservative issues. they thought he would deal with the deficit issues and financial matters. he's a big, tough guy. take these things on. they did not elect him to be pat

buchanan of new jersey. >> why is he doing it? what's your conspiracy theory? why do they stop talking jobs and taxes and go into this cultural fit? >> he's trying to protect himself and mitt romney. i'm not sure jennifer is right that it's going to stay this far right. it depends on what happens in 2012 and whether it's a kounlt balance if they lose badly. >> part of it may be -- >> this is getting to his appeal. >> attitude. i can stand up against the gays and the establishment. but i don't know. i think going against the gays, jennifer, my thought is it's a bad political move. not the smart move. >> this is the problem, chris. what you're saying is exactly right. ba basically what the republican party is opening itself up to is looking like hypocrites. they are anti-government invention. they are pro-civil liberties until it comes to the politics

of sex. at which point, they become interventionists. that's a bad mark on the party for most electoral votes and for most of the people in the middle of the party and in the country. >> we're all god's children. god made us the way we are. this anti-gay stuff is bad. thank you both. up next, "hardball" goes hollywood. the oscars are sunday night. hollywood is about to stick it to the american right by se celebrating france. this is "hardball," only on msnbc.

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on wednesday night's republican debate, rick santorum endorsed arlen spector in 2004 over pat toomey as part of a deal. he said he would support bush's nominee nor the supreme court. today spector denied it all. here's what he told chuck todd today on "the daily rundown." >> that's flatly not true. we never had any such conversation. it would be improper to make a commitment on a vote before i knew who the normminee was and whether i thought the nominee was qualified. i have a very strong reputation and the record behind it not to make deals like that. >> nobody has a voice like him. he famously left the republican party in 2010 because he thought it would help him get reelected. also says he wouldn't endorse

santorum today even if he were still a republican. we'll be right back.

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♪ ♪ ♪ i venture to ask you what you thought of the movie. your thoughts on why "the artist" is such a hot movie? >> silent movie. you hear the music, it was so

loud. it was like watching captain kangaroo. the movie iing. it's very entertaining. it's a love letter to hollywood. i don't know anyone who thinks it's more than a trifle, but there's nobody out there who hates it. and i think the academy loves it because, you know, their demographic is over 50 and white and male. and it's about a kind of aging guy who is pushed aside by a young tootsie and it appeals to their self pity out there and the thought of the tootsie coming back and saving the male. >> just to restore the romance from your criticism -- i'm sorry. a star is born. the great romance of hollywood. and it's about hollywood. >> true. >> and people like me love this stuff. we love the idea of a young woman being born. we love watching her grow up. i have a heart and i love this movie. so here's the thing despite your brilliance. david, let me ask you this about

this movie. about this french piece of it. it wasn't until late in the movie that i realized everybody in the movie is french. it seems like a nice kick in the face to the w. crowd. the chauvinist of the last presidency and the freedom fries crap. we're going to pick a french movie. >> the frenchies hate americans, too. they always hate me. they make fun of my accent which admittedly is terrible, but i try. they have always loved hollywood movies. they love ford, wells and louis. >> they love jerry louis? >> they do. jerry. jerry. >> and so i think because of that, they are perfectly happy to celebrate hollywood without necessarily celebrating americans, you know, certainly the modern american political system. however, it's interesting -- >> trafoe loved hitchcock. and i'm with the french, by the way. i love france. let's take a look at -- >> we have an american director

right now who has made a love letter to french movies, martin scorsese. and he's not going to win. it's the french man making a love letter to hollywood. >> let's talk about "the descendants" because i'm a big george clooney fan. here it is where matt king meets his daughter's boyfriend for the first time. this is george clooney playing a regular guy not a stud for once and i think it really works. let's watch. >> dad, this is sid. >> hello, sid. >> what's up, bro? >> don't ever do that to me again. get ready. we're going to go see your grandparents. scotty, auntie esther is going to come watch you. >> dad, sid is coming with us. >> yeah, sid, what's going on this week is really a family matter. sid is not going to be interested in meeting your grandparents. he's going to be bored stiff. >> dad, i told you he was going to be with me. i'll be a lot more civil with

him around. >> what can i say? >> okay, david. i loved it. what did you think? is this guy going to win best actor? george clooney? >> "the artist" might sweep and jean dujardin might end up taking it. but clooney's performance is a triumph over miscasting. you have a handsome schmoozer. i know he charmed you. he put you in his movie "the ides of march." here he's playing a guy who is kind of twisted. he's estranged from his family. he's estranged from hawaiian culture in which he's grown up. he's a workaholic. he's everything that george clooney is not. and, frankly, i didn't quite buy it. but i love the effort. i love the performance. made me laugh all the way through. i love the movie. i've talked to more people who hate it. i don't quite understand why. >> i'm with you on this. >> the tones -- >> let's talk about the -- we have -- i loved "the help" and i

think viola davis will win best actress. thank york david. always great to have you and to argue with you. when we return, let me finish with a tribute to a comic giant i was reminded of when i saw "the artist." you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. ♪ he was a 21st century global nomad ♪ ♪ home was an airport lounge and an ipad ♪ ♪ made sure his credit score did not go bad ♪ ♪ with a free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ app that he had ♪ downloaded it in the himalayas ♪ ♪ while meditating like a true playa ♪ ♪ now when he's surfing down in chile'a ♪ ♪ he can see when his score is in danger ♪ ♪ if you're a mobile type on the go ♪ ♪ i suggest you take a tip from my bro ♪ ♪ and download the app that lets you know ♪ ♪ at free-credit-score-dot-com now let's go. ♪ vo: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™.

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let me finish tonight with this. the academy awards are on sunday night. and everyone will be paying tribute to "the artist." this movie about the silent film

raerks. it's a movie about an old silent film star who falls because he can't adjust to the arrival of the talking pictures. when i watched the movie, i couldn't help but think of the great nbc star who pioneered all of this, who did the whole bit about the silent film star who couldn't adjust back in the golden age of television. a lot of people watching will know who and what i'm talking about and those who don't, pay attention. this is about greatness. back in the 1950s there was a television show called "your show of shows." it had writers like woody allen and neil brooks and simon. it had the incredible sid caesar who i never missed, who i worshipped back in those days. some of his most memorable skits were those in which he mimicked old-time silent film stars. the matinee idols of early hollywood. i remember one show he played someone modeled on john gilbert who was a giant in the silent movies but whose high-pitched

voice killed him when the talkies arriarrived. ready to give up on life itself, he catches a cold. his voice magically drops to a resonant baritone and he's once again a star. the comedy comes in and the the old sid caesar show because he can only keep his voice resent in by having a cold. someone had to continually pour a buckest water on him. all these years later, i still remember sid caesar as that old hollywood star from the silent era trying to get back to the top. i keep thinking of that skit of his when i watch "the artist." the struggle of a silent film stoor g star to get back on top. so all i can say is if you are watching today, you who did all this back then and did it first, here are a couple of words of tribute. hail caesar. and that's "hardball" for now.